


Women Mara Might Have Been

by Nocticola



Category: Brothers & Sisters, ER (TV 1994), Haven (TV), Jericho (US 2006), John from Cincinnati, Secret Summer (TV Movie 2016), The Perfect Plan (Movie 2010)
Genre: 1x4 Consumed, Abrosexual Tracy Martin, Abrosexuality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, American Sign Language, Case Fic, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Demisexual Nathan Wuornos, Episode 1x2 Butterfly, Episode: s01e01 Welcome to Haven, Episode: s01e03 Harmony, Episode: s01e07 Sketchy, Episode: s01e12 Resurfacing, Episode: s03e06 Real Estate, Gen, Post 15x22 And In The End..., Post Episode 2x5 Termination for Cause, Post-Episode: s01e10 His Visit Day 9, post episode 2x11 Missionary Imposition
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-05-30 16:24:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15100571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nocticola/pseuds/Nocticola
Summary: AKA I watched Emily Rose in a bunch of pre/non-Haven things and want to write about them.[Should make sense for people who haven't seen the non-Haven shows in question and each chapter does its best to follow a specific Haven episode]1. Cass, filmmaker (John from Cincinnati, 2007)/1x1 Welcome to Haven2. Lena Branigan, office manager (Brothers & Sisters, 2008/1x2 Butterfly)3. Tracy Martin, doctor (E.R, 2008-2009/1x3 Harmony)4. Trish Merrick (Jericho 2008/1x4 Consumed)5. Lauren Baker, realtor (Perfect Plan, 2010/1x7 Sketchy & 1x12 Resurfacing & 3x6 Real Estate)





	1. Cass, Filmmaker

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Cass, filmmaker (John from Cincinnati, 2007)/1x1 Welcome to Haven  
> 2\. Lena Branigan, office manager (Brothers & Sisters, 2008/1x2 Butterfly)  
> 3\. Tracy Martin, doctor (E.R, 2008-2009/1x3 Harmony)  
> 4\. Trish Merrick (Jericho 2008/1x4 Consumed)  
> 5\. Lauren Baker, realtor (Perfect Plan, 2010/1x7 Sketchy & 1x12 Resurfacing & 3x6 Real Estate)  
> 6\. Mary Ross, lawyer (Legally Tender/Thanksgiving House 2013 / 3x5 Double Jepardy)  
> 7\. Elena Fisher (Uncharted 2007-201x/ 3x11 Last Goodbyes)  
> 8\. Janice Kenman (Secret Summer, 2016/post-s3 AU)  
> 9\. Jessica Foster, FBI (Graceland, 2014/????)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cass from Hibbing, Minnesota (California), filmmaker  
> Dwight the cleaner cameo, Nathan, Garland, surfing Duke cameo  
> 1x1 Welcome to Haven: Marion Caldwell's weather Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Art: https://demisexualnathanvuornos.tumblr.com/post/176162107478/women-mara-might-have-been-chapter-1-cass

Cass arrives in Haven, Maine and even though the body of water in an ocean and not a lake, it reminds her of home immediate. For her, that's not a good thing. She left Minnesota behind for a reason and Maine doesn't seem any more appealing to her than her home state. But this is where John Monad wants her to be, and although she still has no fucking clue who John is, or what he wants, even though she’s known him for a few years now, but she still does what he tells her to. Because John told her his father is kind, and Cass tries to trust that. All of this has got to have a point right? But in any case, she kinda gets paid for this, so this is what she'll do. 

John of course didn't tell her what exactly she's supposed to be doing in Haven. Her plan is to just follow her gut and film what she sees. No matter how boring it likely is. Everything has to make sense eventually, right? 

Although it is a pretty little coastal town, Cass can't really find much of anything that she feels is worthy of filming. The time of home videos of vacations is kinda over, so she's not even quite sure whether she can pull off a tourist look if she's asked about what she's doing. She feels kinda silly, dragging her camera with her around town. She films the ocean, some people mulling about. Nothing to really write home about, but something has to click soon. 

And then, a freaky fog envelops a nearby block and Cass finally feels some inspiration. This is what John wants her to film, right? She stays back far enough that people won't be suspect of her filming, but it seems she didn't wasn’t quite successful at that. A huge dude with long blond hair, looking like a Viking from a thousand years ago, walks up to her, feigning calmness, and smiles a seemingly friendly smile that's only barely non-threatening. 

“Hey, there. Enjoying the Maine scenery? I don't think a random city block is exactly the best use of film.” 

Cass puts on a smile and goes into a flirty mode. This dude would be a much better mark than Mitch Yost, even if she did have a legit crush on Mitch as a teenager. She also realizes that her camera is too big and fancy to pass off as a tourist's camera. Maybe she can sweet talk this guy to leave her alone to do her work. Whatever that work actually is. She does find that weird fog to be interesting. 

“Hey!” she does her best to seem very blonde, “I'm doing a documentary about life on coastal Maine. Freaky weather phenomenon definitely gives it an interesting sense of unpredictability. Which I’m sure you’re used to as a local.” She’s not quite sure whether that was the right approach. But the best lies are build on truth. And it’s not like she’s even totally lying. Possibly. Working on spec can be frustrating. 

“Yeah, well, you need a permit for something like that.” 

“Really? I didn't realize. Silly me.” Cass does her best ditzy voice but the Viking isn't convinced. 

“I can show you the way to the police station where you can apply for a license.” The man is all business, yet Cass can tell he's not really someone you'll say no to. 

“Fine. Wouldn't want my documentary to amount to nothing because of some random legalese,” Cass says and hopes her frustration isn’t too clear. 

Cass is not sure she should be making any of this official. She isn't even quite sure why she feels the need to be secretive of her reason for being in Haven. There's something about John and his mission that makes her feel like secrets is the right methods, and there might definitely be something off about this town. Maybe there is more to Haven than fishing and lobster and the wide open ocean. 

The Thor-lookalike gives her the address and directions and apparently it isn't even that far way (well, this is a small town), and she finds her way there easily. 

Although given the road conditions, she's not sure whether her convertible is the most suitable car for this town. But she loves her car and isn't about to part with it over some minor inconveniences. 

She arrives at the station and it kinda feels like people knew she was coming. The blond man probably tipped them off. That is definitely weird. Some people smile at her weirdly, and it looks like they’re keeping an eye on her. She is still looking for the info desk, when she sees two men get into an argument by the door that says ‘Detectives’. It’s probably nothing, but it might be, so Cass sets up her camera. 

“What are you doing?” asks the younger yet taller man. His hair is brown and his eyes are really blue. 

Cass extents her arm and puts on a smile she doesn’t have to fake at all, “Hi, I’m Cass. I’m shooting a documentary about Maine and I came here to get the appropriate permit.” 

“Right,” the man’s suspicions seem to double, and he seems at a loss at what to do. The older man takes over. 

“Nathan, give the woman her permit for filming, show her around for a bit to show there’s really nothing worth filming and let the lady move on.” 

The man called Nathan turns to look at the other man, and he looks completely taken a back and confused. 

“Why? Chief, I have that other case I could---“ 

“That ‘other case’ is an accident, plain and simple. You know this town, you can show her around so she gets what she needs and then she can go.” 

Cass is surprised by the fact that the Chief seems to be on her side, and Nathan seems to share her point of view. If she’s honest, she really wouldn’t mind spending time with this guy. He’s cute and has a nice vibe. 

“Fine!” Nathan says in a tone which makes it clear it’s very much not fine. Nathan goes behind the info desk (oh, that’s where that was), looks for the correct permit, finds a pen and takes them into the room that is apparently his office. “Follow me.” 

Nathan makes some space on his desk, puts down the pen and permit and even moves a chair for her. “Fill this out and I can drive you around for a bit.” 

“Wow. I really didn’t expect that, but thanks.” 

Nathan just shrugs while he gathers his things as she writes. She doesn’t actually have to be *too* honest in this, does she? Probably not. At one point she takes a deep breath and suddenly a lot of different scents attack her nose, so much so that she gets a coughing fit. 

“Oh, sorry. The scents are a bit strong,” Nathan apologizes as he moves a tiny rack full of tiny bottles away. OK, that is odd. 

“That’s fine,” she says when she has her breathing back in order, “and this is done.” 

Nathan takes the permit from here, looks through it quickly and puts in into a file on his desk, “Great, I’ll file this later. Everything looks good.” 

“Good,” Cass says and takes her bag as she follows Nathan outside. 

She is about to walk to her own car when she notices that Nathan is by a big blue Bronco that seems to be his. She thinks she sees a tiny smile when Nathan walks to check out her car, “Very nice,” he says appreciatively. 

“What can I say, I like vintage,” Cass says with a flirty smile. “I like yours too. I bet it is tailor made for this region.” 

“Pretty much, I have had it since I was 19.” 

“Wow! That is impressive. So, I guess we should take that, huh? Will my car stay safe if I leave it here?” 

“Yeah, it will.”

And with that, it's time to go drive around this small town in coastal Maine. Cass still doesn't really know what exactly she's looking for here, but maybe she will find it soon.

Nathan is a real gentleman, he helps her get into the truck but unfortunately, Cass ends up slamming the door on his fingers as she closes the door. 

"Wow, sorry. That was a total accident!" she says but Nathan doesn't seem to even notice. 

"Didn't feel it," is the only thing he says, and wow that's really weird.

They drive around Haven, and it really is quite pretty. Sometimes she tells Nathan to stop the car and she goes out and films stuff. It’s all rather random but she’s really not sure what she should be doing. Until they drive past an antiques shop, that she’s pretty sure was connected to the fog earlier. She’s pretty sure Nathan drove here not for her but for himself, probably that ‘other case’ he mentioned at the station.

“I think I could film something around here." 

"Really? I have a little something I could do here, if you don't mind."

"I won't." 

Nathan parks and gets out the car, going to talk first with the man outside before entering the antique shop to talk to the owner.

Cass can't quite help it but she feels like something is going on here. She decides to just film and see whether the footage will reveal something to her. 

And then it starts hailing, out of nowhere. She runs back to Nathan’s car, hoping her camera isn't damaged. She can't see any damage right then and when she puts it on it seems to work perfectly. She films the hail safely from Nathan's car, although she does give a stray thought to what the hail is doing to her own car. 

The man Nathan talked to earlier is still outside under a cover and ke might be a suspect in Nathan's case. She zooms in to film him.

And then, as suddenly as it appeared, the weather clears and Nathan comes out from the shop. The man takes a hold of Nathan's arm as he passes by, and although Nathan doesn't notice it until it impedes on his movement, (that's kinda odd) he does turn to look at the other man.

"I did it! It was me!" the man yells, right in the middle of the street. Nathan takes out his cuffs and puts them on the man and even though his face is sceptical he brings the man to his car.

"You alright, Cass?" he asks and there seems to be genuine worry in his voice. 

"I'm alright, thanks. Your Bronco saved me from the surprise hail." 

"Good," Nathan says with a tiny smile. "I'm gonna have to stop this thing short, I have more pressing business. I'll drive you to your car. I mean, I'm going there anyway. Since it's at the station." 

Cass smiles, Nathan really is cute but kinda awkward, "That's fine. I think I know my way around here well enough now." 

Nathan nods and put the man ("watch your head Conrad") in the back of the car and they drive back to the station in silence. 

Cass goes to check on her car and surprisingly, there's no damage. Apparently it was a very localized hail storm. Well, that's better than finding her dear car broken but it's still weird. She puts her camera on the front seat and decides to drive out to the beach. 

She finds up in one and it really is quite beautiful, if you go for ocean views. She's surprised to actually see a surfer out in the waves. The surfer seems to be a tall man with long brown hair who clearly doesn't mind the freaky weather. Cass would have thought that normal Maine weather would have been enough to keep people from surfing. Even touhut she is more a watcher (and filmer) of surfing, the man is after her own heart. She films him for a bit but leaves before he is done. 

She drives around town, finding herself by the antique shop again. You know, she does need some touristy tips on Haven, she might as well ask her. She needs places to eat and to sleep. She has slept in her car before but would prefer not to do that now.

She leaves her actual camera in her car but takes her cellphone with her. There is something going on and she wants to find out what.

Cass enters the shop and looks around, pretending she's browsing, taking pictures of what interests her when really she's filming. She is left alone for about 5 minutes and if she's honest, it's kinda boring. She's not really sure what she is doing here and why. 

"May I help you?" a man Cass immediately gets a bad vibe from asks. 

Cass gives her best 'please go away' smile, "Not really. I'm mostly just browsing. I just got to Haven."

Surprisingly the man seems to actually read her mood correctly and backs off, "Alright, but don't hesitate to ask." She gives him one more fake smile. 

And then there's thunder. Straight up heavy rain and lightning. This time Cass' car is definitely in the danger zone but she did put up the hood and locked it, so it should be safe. 

That's fog, hail and a thunder storm, all around here. That's a pattern. Conrad's not here, so it must be ---- 

A dark haired woman enters the shop, soaking wet and a mood to match. But customer service must be in her blood because as soon as she sees Cass, a smile comes on her face. It's not quite real, not quite fake. And the thunder disappears. Interesting. 

"Oh, hello! I didn't see you there! I'm Marion, the owner. Are you looking for something special?" 

Cass responds with a similar smile, "Hi, I'm Cass. I just came to Haven and I might be staying for a while. I was looking around for some decor suggestions, although that's a bit silly of me, since I don't even have a place to stay yet. Is there a bed and breakfast or something you might recommend?"

"Oh. Well, Over the Way b&b is very nice and doesn't mind long term visitors. I think you are allowed to have a bit of your own furniture too if you ask." 

"That sounds perfect, thank you." Cass looks around some more, trying to find something in her price range she might actually like to keep. 

"Is the weather always this weird in Maine?" she tries to sound nonchalant but no matter her tone, Marion would probably put on that same super-fake smile on her face and say in barely there voice, 

"Yes, Maine weather is always quite unpredictable."

Marion tries desperately to change the subject again, "So, what is your price range and the style you're looking for?" 

"You know, I think I should make sure I have a room at that b&b and see what's there. I took some pictures and come back to check what I like." 

"Alright! See you later, then." 

Cass walks back to her car. She needs to find some place where she can edit her findings in peace. It shouldn't be too hard to connect all the weather phenomenon on Marion, even if she's not quite sure what that means. But the cute cop will probably appreciate an explanation for the weather.

*** 

Cass rents a room at Over the Way, and gets room number 10. She sets up her laptop, her phone and camera and starts editing. 

She does manage to find footage of Marion during all the weird weather and even though she doesn't look like she realizes what she's doing, Marion is the culprit.

She looks at the other footage, especially Conrad during the hail. She zooms in a bit and tries to read his lips. She thinks she can make out him saying,

'Oh, Marion.' Conrad's face turns resolute and she can see the moment he decides to turn himself in for Marion. Of course, that's her speculation. 

Soon enough, Nathan appears on the footage. The moment with his arm happens again, and Cass' curiosity is piqued again. He didn't complain about his fingers, he didn't notice Conrad's hold until it affected him. There is something odd going on with Nathan, and Marion controls the weather. There really is something going on in this town. 

She looks up at the clock and it's late. Probably too late for her to contact Nathan, so Conrad will probably spent the night in jail. That's a shame. But she needs more info before she gives any of this to Nathan.

She looks at the footage at the antique shop, trying to find something that will make it click. She sees the man from the store in the background of some of her cellphone footage that she is looking through on the computer. He does seem to be doing something suspicious, on the phone and on a computer, and saying something to himself that she can't hear or make out lip reading without context. She is lacking in knowledge so she's not quite sure what is going on.

At that moment, she realizes she's hungry. Maybe if she goes to a local restaurant she'll hear about rumors that will help her figure this out.

Cass walks around town, trying to find a restaurant that is open. She finally finds The Second Chance by the ocean and although it seems a bit fancy, she's hungry and she has a credit card from John. It's so *good* to have money. 

She enters the restaurant when she is surprised to see Nathan. She intents to just say hello to him, since his table is so close but he ends up inviting her to eat with him.

"I didn't take you for eating out alone type of guy," she tells him. 

"Well, I'm not eating alone now," he says with some emphasis but then realizes what he sounded like and mumbles an apology. 

"That is true, you aren't. Thank you for driving me around Haven today. It is true what they say about small town boys," she smiles with a hint of flirtiness but Nathan just smiles normally back at her.

"It was fun. Sometimes you forget how beautiful it is out here, until you see it through an outsider's eyes." 

"I doubt you'd find the beauty in Minnesota if you tried." 

"Is that where you're from?"

"Yep. A small small town called Hibbing. There's nothing of interest in there. I got out of there every chance I got, left for good when I was 18. Haven't been back to the whole state since then." 

"How did you end up in Haven?" 

"I met a dude in California. He's kinda my boss, wanted me to film something here. So, I'm here because I get paid to be here." 

"That sounds like an odd arrangement."

"That's an understatement. But it seems like Haven has it's own amount of weird." 

Nathan tenses at that. But Cass has gotten slightly tipsy and decides to fully go for it. 

"Marion, the antiques lady, she's in control of this weird weather Haven has had today. The fog, the hail, the thunder storm, that's all her." 

Nathan is wearing his best sceptical look but Cass continues on. 

"And there's something off about you. You didn't feel the car door on your fingers and you didn't notice Conrad's hold on your arm until it physically stopped you. Not to mention you started eating without blowing on it first or checking it's temperature." 

Nathan's right hand is squeezed into a fist with his nails probably digging into his palm. And he doesn't feel it. But Cass decides to not mention that. 

"I have a condition. It's called idiopathic neuropathy. I can't feel physically." 

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I don't really like to talk about it." 

"I understand. But what about this whole weather business? I know Conrad is just protecting Marion but I don't know why or from what." 

"Why do you think Marion is affecting the weather? Maine weather is naturally weird."

"Is it really this weird?" Cass asks pointedly. When Nathan doesn't reply, she continues, 

"I've been filming around town all day, especially the weather stuff. It was always around Marion, and the weather kinda followed her mood." 

"Really?" Nathan's tone is excessively sceptical which just makes Cass think he is trying to keep her from the truth.

"Really. And there is something weird going on with that guy she works with." 

"Ted Ford?" Nathan asks, forgetting to play dumb with her now. 

I don't know his name. But blond guy. When I went there he was having some suspicious phone call but I don't know what he said. If I knew a bit more about what Conrad confessed to, maybe I could--" 

"Are you pumping me for information during dinner?" 

"Well, I did plan to just eat and then go to sleep and do this in the morning, but you invited me to eat with you, so..." Cass tries a charm smile on Nathan and it seems to work, at least a little bit. 

"I'm not saying I believe you. And I won't tell you anything about an open investigation. But you should bring me your footage in the morning. It might be something pertinent to the investigation."

Alright. You'll get it early in the morning." 

After they are done eating, they pay their bills separatively and Nathan drives get back to Over the Way. It wasn't a date but Cass wouldn't have minded if Nathan tried to kiss her. But he didn't. Must be that not-feeling-anything condition. 

*** 

She decides to do a little research on her own before going to sleep. She finds the local newspaper's, Haven Herald's, website and checks out the news section. Some criminal by the name Jonas Lester died this morning. That must be Nathan's case, although the article does claim he accidentally fell off a cliff to the beach underneath. Someone who controls the wind could do that.

With this new info, she goes back to the footage of this Ted guy. He could be talking about Lester or Jonas to the person on the phone. But does that really mean anything? Surely a lot of people talked about Jonas the dead guy today.

Maybe Nathan can make some more sense of that. He's the cop, she's a filmmaker. She puts some finishing touches on her edits and goes to sleep. It's been a long damn day. 

***

She wakes up 10, which is early for her but probably late for Nathan, so she gathers her footage and makes her way to the police station. She really didn't think this would be what she would be doing in Haven, but sometimes life is full of surprises. Although, now that she thinks about it, she's not sure how long 'I'm doing a documentary' excuse will fly here. But there is something going on and for some reason Cass can't let it go. Haven is her type of weird. Much better than being manipulated by John and his so-called father. 

She looks around the station quickly but doesn't see Nathan. The Detectives office door is open, and Cass decides to let herself in. She goes to sit at the same chair she sat in yesterday when she filled in the permit, and it's then she notices Nathan's name blacque. 'Wuornos', what an odd name. She's not sure how to pronounce it. She might ask him about it at some point. 

Just then Nathan enters the office with a coffee cup and he's surprised to see her there. 

"Hey," Cass says and waves her hand a bit awkwardly. "I have the footage. I thought it was OK to let myself in." 

"Yeah, that's fine," Nathan says, although it doesn't sound like 'fine' is really how he feels about her intrusion. 

Cass can't help her curiosity and asks, "OK, you gotta tell me. How do you pronounce your last name?" Cass points at the blacque as she asks. 

"Wuor-nos. It's Finnish." 

"OK, thanks. So, anyway, here are my edited footage. It shows pretty clearly to me that Marion is responsible for the weather, Conrad is covering for her, and Ted might have something to do with this Jonas Lester guy." 

"How did you hear about Jonas Lester?" 

"I can read. The Haven Herald had an article about him dying yesterday. I think I can make out Ted saying that on the phone while suspiciously looking up bank records." Cass woke up in the middle of the night to check the Ted footage one more time, and she thinks she saw an e-bank website in the background." 

"Alright. Thanks, I will review to footage and see what is going on. I do have some other leads that might implicate people other than Conrad. But that is police business, not documentarist business." Nathan smiles to take the sting out of his words, which does work. He has a nice smile. 

"Fine. I'll go do my documentarist thing around town elsewhere today. I'll let you do your thing." 

Cass stands up to leave but Nathan stops her before she leaves, "Hey, I checked you out yesterday. I watched _Legends_. I'm not really into surfing but it was pretty interesting. 

Cass can't help but smile, "Thanks. I told you I'm legit." 

*** 

But Cass was lying to Nathan about something. The case won't leave her alone and she goes to visit Marion again. 

"Hello, again! Did you make any decisions on what you want?" 

"Hi! No, I haven't yet. I must say that there are a lot of interesting pieces here. I just had to come look at them again in person." 

"I'm glad to hear that. Although, I should tell you, you should make your decisions quite quickly. I am planning on moving to Santa Barbara with my partner soon, and might close this place. We already made a deposit on a place!" Marion sounds excited but Cass has a bad feeling about that. 

"Marion, do you think Ted, your partner, know that man who died yesterday, Jonas Lester? When I was here yesterday, I heard him mention him while looking at some bank records." 

"Well, he made the deposit yesterday. And rumors travel fast, I'm sure it was nothing..." Marion tries to justify when her phone rings. She answers it and it's Nathan. 

"Hi, Nathan. No, Ted's not here. No, I haven't seen him today, why are you asking? What? That can't possible be the case! He couldn't do that to me." Marion goes to her computer and Cass can see she is going to her e-bank. She drops her phone on the floor when she sees her account is empty. 

The sky turns black with clouds and thunder strikes again. Before Cass can stop her, Marion is on her way to finding Ted. Cass takes the dropped phone and tells Nathan to follow the storm, that will help him find both Marion and Ted. Nathan tells Cass to stay away, but she doesn't listen to him. She will get there faster. 

*** 

Marion has disappeared surprisingly quickly, and Cass' car really doesn't like the country roads but she does find her quickly enough. 

Marion's rage is in full bloom, she is yelling at Ted and the wind is out of control and lightnings strike the trees around them. Cass has to yell at Marion to be heard. 

"Marion! The police are coming soon, Ted won't get away with this! You don't need to hurt him!" 

"But I want to! He used me!" 

Luckily Nathan comes around right then and takes care of Ted. That is really good, because Cass is not sure she's quite up to that stuff. But she does know how to persuade people. 

"Marion, please stop this! All this weather, you're doing it.You can control it! You need to calm down, Ted will pay for his crimes against you!" 

Finally Cass manages to get close enough to comfort Marion and she lets her. As Cass holds Marion, the weather calms down. This is really freaky, but Cass finds herself also feeling like this is *right *, like this is something she should be doing. 

*** 

Nathan takes both Marion and Ted to the station, let's Conrad out as he puts Ted in while getting Marion's statement about the whole situation. Cass also goes to the station, she wants to talk to Conrad. They walk out of the station together. 

"I've seen you around the last few days. Do you know Marion?" 

"Not really. I've only arrived yesterday. But I filmed some useful footage yesterday that helped with the case." 

"Alright," Conrad says. 

"Did you know that Marion controls the weather?" Cass decides to ask point blank. 

Conrad smiles at her, "Of course I don't something like that. That is impossible, isn't it?" 

Cass laughs, "Great, so this is how of you Havenites are? Fine." 

When they arrive at Cass' car, she continues, "Well, I bet you know something else. You're in love with Marion. I'm not sure she's in love with you, but I'm sure she can use someone who really cares about her. It might help with this weird weather we've been having." 

Conrad doesn't say anything but he seems contemplative. 

"I'm not sure what will happen with Marion, but I'm sure she will need you." 

"Maybe so. It was nice to meet you, Cass." Conrad doesn't extent his hand, which is fine. This place is full of people with weird touch issues. 

"You might see me around. I'm thinking of staying." 

"Alright. I'll think about what you said," and Conrad walks out a free man. 

Cass is trying to decide what to do next. She wants to know what happens with Marion but she's not sure Nathan will tell her. That is an odd man. She decides to sit and wait in her car for a while. 

After an hour or so, Marion appears from the station and starts walking towards home. Cass smiles, she's glad Marion was let out. Hopefully Conrad will tell her how he feels. She leaves her car and decides to go talk to Nathan. 

She finds Nathan in his office again, although she knocks this time. Nathan tells her to get in. His right arm is in a sling, Cass thought she heard a gunshot when she was talking Marion down but she didn't realize Nathan was actually hit. Must be one of the 'benefits' of his condition. 

"How's your arm?" 

"Doesn't hurt," is the only thing Nathan says. He really is something. "You know, I can't really tell you anything about the outcome of the case. You can read what we release to the public in tomorrow _Herald_. No matter what evidence you provided." 

"C'mon! You have to give me something! I helped you solve the case!" 

"Did you help? Yes. And your evidence is helpful. But you're not a cop, so you are not entitled to this information." 

"Your Chief didn't let you even work this case. That's why he had you babysit me yesterday." 

Based on Nathan's reaction, there seems to be a lot of bad blood between him and his Chief, "The inner politics of the Haven PD are not your concern. I was working the case on my own, no matter what he said. You know that." 

"I talked Marion down! I got her weather thing under control! You have to give me that! Tell me, what will happen to her?" 

"I'm not admitting to any 'weather' thing. But off the record, turns out, it was an accident after all and the case of Jonas Lester is solved now." 

Cass stays silent for a while, trying to decide if that is enough for her. She decides it is. For now. 

"OK. As long as she's gonna be OK." 

Cass reaches out to Nathan and quickly pats his left hand. Hopefully Nathan won't mind that. 

"I'll be around, Nathan!" she tells him as she walks out of the station. 

She completely misses Nathan's panicked look. He felt that! 

*** 

Cass drives around Haven again, looking around it, trying to find something else interesting. There’s definitely something going on in this town. She can’t wait to figure out what that is.


	2. Lena Branigan, office manager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena Branigan, Los Angeles, California  
> The Teagues, the Driscolls; Nathan  
> 1x2 Butterfly: Bobby Mueller's dreams come true Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is late because birthday stuff (yay!) and employment stuff (ugh, maybe yay)  
> (1.8.& 7.8-8.8)
> 
> This one ended up having more Nathan than I planned, but the tricky thing with these is getting the non-Audrey protagonist involved in the case while also paying in mind that Nathan as a cop will also be involved.
> 
> Fic Art: https://demisexualnathanvuornos.tumblr.com/post/176781155623/women-mara-might-have-been-chapter-2-lena

Lena Branigan needs to get out of Los Angeles. She needs a change, to make some different life choices. Choices that don't involve sleeping with a married man, and then sleeping with that man's recovering addict brother. She wants to be better than that. So, a total livestyle change is probably what she needs.

So, she ends up in Haven, Maine. Still by an ocean, but on the other side of the country, with a completely different vibe, small town where everyone knows everyone. It's so different to what she's used to, but considering the mess she's leaving behind, maybe that's the best. She might even start going to a church. As she arrives in her bed & breakfast, she can see a prominent one from the car window. She also sees a 'help wanted' sign on the window of something she didn't have a chance to see, but at least she might end up finding something to do here. 

After she's settled down, she goes for a walk around town. To get to know her new home. There doesn't seem to be much, but it is beautiful, and seemingly calm. 

She walks by the local newspaper, _Haven Herald_ and sees that the wanted sign was on their wall. A business degree and a job as an office manager of a winery might not be quite what they are looking for, but how many other choices could they have? 

She steps inside and it is really nice little place. She sees two old men and smiles at them. 

”Hello! I saw your sign, and thought I'd stop by. Are you still interviewing?” 

There is something odd about the men's reactions to her, but they soon they compose themselves and they tell her to sit down and they start the interview. 

”My name is Vince Teagues, and this is my brother Dave. We are looking for a so-called 'girl Friday'. Do you have any experience in this area?” 

”Nice to meet you both. Well, I didn't bring my resume with me just now, but I do have a business degree, I was just a successful office manager for a winery and if you like it black, I do make decent coffee.” 

”Oh, impressive,” Vince, the one who has handled most of the talking. 

”We do like our coffee black, and if you like Mai Tais, we serve them after 3pm!” 

”I love do love me some Mai Tais!” Lena says, although she hopes she doesn't come off as too eager. Working for a local news paper sounds nice, and with these guys she definitely won't end up having an affair with either one of her bosses. Although neither one of them is wearing a ring, so that's not even an issue. 

”We would like to see a resume and some references, but you seem well suited to the job!” Dave says. 

”Thank you! Are you just saying that because I'm the only applicant?” 

”Doesn't mean it's not also true!” 

Lena likes Dave. She's not quite sure about the way Vince keeps looking at her, but she can manage that. 

”Do you have photography skills?” Dave asks. 

”I can hold a camera well enough.” 

”If you don't mind doing that type of work, there was a freak accident here early this morning. We could use a picture for the afternoon edition. A bar called Rust Bucket had a mishap with a, well, a giant metal ball.” Vince tries to sound like this is nothing unusual. 

”A giant metal ball? Sign me up. But do I get paid for photography too?” 

”Yes, per published picture.” 

”Alright. Sounds interesting.” 

”Good. Bring the camera back within an hour or two and we can get on with the new edition. You can start properly next week. I'm sure you want to get properly settled first.” 

”Thank you, Dave. And Vince. I won't let you down.” 

She gets a camera from the Teagues and follows their instructions to the Rust Bucket. When she arrives, there are still a lot of people gawking at the giant metal ball inside a bar. It really is quite a sight and she gets some great pictures. She hears murmurs about the ball's origin, it's from a statue on Greene Street but that doesn't mean anything Lena. She walks back to the _Herald_ and gives the camera back. 

Now that her job situation has been handled (surprisingly easily, she didn't even need nepotism this time), she continues her walk around Haven. Some older people seem to be giving her weird looks, but she suspects that's just because she's new and they are old small town people stuck in their ways. They'll come around to her once she's been in town for a while. 

Next she should probably try to find some place to eat lunch. She finds a dive bar-esque Scupper and has some nice fries and a burger there. 

*** 

After lunch, Lena ends up walking by the church and deciding to give it a look. If she shows that she's willing to integrate, maybe people will not treat her like an outsider for too long. There is a weird statue outside, which might be missing something, or maybe the chains are just there for aesthetic. Lena doesn't really understand these things. 

As she steps in, she can hear the organ music and it's clear she's in the middle of some event. It's not Sunday morning, so it's not the sermon, but the door is open so she sneaks in the back. Someone else is also sitting at the back, just on the other side, and he gives her a brief glance. He's cute but seems angry. She gets his mood when she hears the priest or whatever speak. 

_The best chance he has of staying on God's path is to live amongst the godly and to steer clear of the troubled and the ungodly. Can I hear an "amen"? Amen. Haven is a fine place to raise a family. But you and I know it is chock-full of the ungodly! Can I hear an "amen"? Amen._

The man on the other bench gets up in the middle of the sermon, and even though Lena has no idea what is so upsetting to the man, she is not getting good vibes about this priest, or his congregation. The words are creepy with subtext. But she stays. She has no reason to run off. 

After the christening is done, Lena tries to stay behind so as not to arouse interest in her. But she doesn't manage to sneak out without the priest seeing her. 

”Hello! I'm reverend Edmund Driscoll. And who might you be?” 

”Hi! I'm Lena Branigan, I'm new in town. I thought I'd check out the church. The building is really beautiful. And what you said in your sermon, it was really… intense.” 

”This is a special town, Lena. A special town requires a special approach. Are you planning on staying long?” 

Lena is somewhat uncomfortable with the question but she smiles anyway. 

”Yes. I just got a job as an office manager for the _Haven Herald_. I start there next week. Although they did already check my photography skills. Weird what happened to that bar, right? Just got destroyed by a giant metal ball. I'm from L.A. and I didn't see that stuff every day.” 

The Rev smiles with not a small hint of menace. ”Yes, I did hear about it. You might have actually seen it's original placement. I'm sure once we're done here, I will be talking with a certain detective about this.” The Rev seems very displeased about that. 

”Are you a woman of the Lord, Ms. Branigan or what brings you to my church?” 

”Um, 'Lena' is fine. Since I will be working for the _Herald_ , I thought I'd check around town before I start there, to know what kind of people I'll be servicing. Seeing the local religious life tells a lot about the locals. And I was thinking of maybe becoming more sprititual myself.” Lena is bullshitting, to an extend. Considering her mistakes, maybe she does need more spiritual guidance, but she is doubtful Reverend Driscoll is what she's looking for. 

Just then, a woman comes along with a teenage boy, and Lena is grateful for the change in topic. Both of them look uncomfortable at seeing the Rev. 

Just then, a woman comes along with a teenage boy. Both of them look uncomfortable at seeing the Rev. 

”Ah, Lena. Meet my daughter Hannah and her fosterson Bobby. Hannah, Lena is new in town. What do you say we invite her for dinner soon?” 

”Nice to meet you, Lena. I'm sure that would be lovely.” 

”Oh, I don't want to impose...” Lena is not sure whether dinner with the Rev is a good idea, but she is slight interested in that big ball. She'll have to check out that sculpture again before she leaves. 

”It would be no such thing. We'd love to have you, wouldn't we, Hannah?” 

”Yes, of course.” Hannah's smile is trying to hide nervousness. 

”I'm sure I'm free tomorrow night.” 

”Wonderful! I assume you are staying at Over the Way? Hannah can pick you up tomorrow at 7.” 

”Sounds great!” Lena is trying to sound convincing but she's not sure she succedes. It would be nice to have a friend though, and Hannah could be one. 

She finally leaves the church and she sees that the man didn't storm too far away, since he is waiting in the lobby. Before she steps outside, she can hear the Rev asks, 

”What do you want here, Nathan?”

Lena spares a glance at the people who are left behind, and she was right, the Rev is really not happy to see this guy Nathan. Must be the detective about that ball and sculpture. But none of that is her problem, so she quickly and happily leaves the church. 

* * * 

After checking out Haven some more (it's really not her scene, there are only a few restaurants and none of the bars are really good for dancing, although that might be for the best), Lena ends up back in her room at the bed and breakfast. On the table she finds an information pamphlet about Haven and gives it a look over. Nothing odd jumps out at her. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she should have gone to another big city on the West Coast to try to change her life, instead of this 20,000 people small town in the other side of the country. But she loves the name. She could use a 'haven' to figure out what to actually do with her life. Well, at least she has a job. She'll give this town a try for the foreseeable future. 

* * * 

The next morning, she gets her first look at the paper she'll be working for. They did end up using one of her picture of the Rust Bucket, which makes her feel almost as good as being the creator of a Walker's Landing wine label. Although she does feel better about earning this one. The actual news is interesting if vague and it doesn't seem like anyone, neither the Teagues or that cop Nathan have any idea how it happened. Odd thing. Other news on the paper are pretty typical of small town life, but out of boredom and curiosity, Lena reads the whole paper. 

Next she'll have to decide what exactly she'll be wearing at this really awkward dinner with the Driscolls. Something appropriate for eating with a reverend, of course, but Lena is not quite sure she actually has any. She saw at least one clothing store as she was walking around town yesterday and that seems like a good place to start. New clothes are always fun. She ends up getting a bright yellow dress which she hopes is appropriate and then makes her way to the farmer's market. There she has a nice lunch before going back to her room and just reading some trashy novel she got from the airport before she ended up in Haven. 

* * * 

Hannah is early, which is good, because Lena is starting to wonder whether the dinner was at all a good idea. It would be better if she actually knew more about the Driscolls. They have a good half an hour before they should leave, so Lena has some time to get to know Hannah. 

”I am sorry if my father was too pushy about this. He has a habit of bulldozing to get what he wants. And clearly he wants to meet you now, as a new person in Haven, possibly in his church and he dragged me and Bobby in to this.” 

”Well, it is kinda nice to get to meet new people. I literally know no one here, so I appreciate the company and having something to do. So, is Bobby your son or--?” 

”Oh, Bobby is, well, essentially he's my foster son. He lost his parents about a year ago, so I'm taking care of him now. My father was the one who took him in initially, but he leaves all the actual day to day stuff to me.” Hannah seems nervous, and keeps looking at Lena like she almost but not quite recognized her which is very weird. ”You can still cancel, I can tell my father you were feeling ill.” 

”No, it's no problem. I'll be working for the _Herald_ , so if anyone you have some theories on that ball, I'd love to hear it.” Lena smiles reassuringly to Hannah, whose own smile is more awkward but still sincere. 

”Great. Shall we go then?” 

”Let's.” 

The dinner itself is filled with awkwardness. Lena can sense a whole lot of tension that is very carefully kept from her but it's not really working. They ask about what brought her to Haven and about her past. Lena isn't exactly brought of all that, so she prefers to say as little as possible.

Her attempts to bring the topic back to the sculpture and the Rust Bucket only make the situation worse. She is curious, apparently Hannah was working there without the Rev's permission and that leads to a lot of passive aggressive interactions. The food is good though so the evening is not a total loss. As she leaves, she promises to talk with Hannah again about her situation the next day.

After that awkward dinner, Lena needs to have a shower. For a small place with barely any tourists, the b&b is quite nice. Although Lena is surprised when she finds a butterfly in her room. Which is a bit odd but nevermind that. Lena gives the yellow dress another look and thinks it has potential, although the cut isn't quite right. She picks up her scrissors when suddenly she notices that she is being cocooned! It makes no sense, but luckily she is still holding the scissors and manages to cut herself out from it. She has no clue what just happened but she decides to self medicate with a little something from the minibar. 

***

The next morning, she calls Hannah who promises to meet her at the food bank where she is volunteering this morning. While Lena is trying to find her way there, she is trying to decide whether or not to mention her little butterfly cocoon incident. That was something really weird, and she has no idea how to deal with that. Not to mention, that sculpture ball is a really weird thing too. Wonder if something is going on under the surface of this town? 

As she helps Hannah and Bobby unpack the cans of food, she does ask them about what they think about the Rust Bucket incident, and whether that is the only weird thing going on in town. Bobby seems pretty upset about the topic and excuses himself to take a break, and Hannah tries her best to uphold Haven’s possible façade as a totally ordinary small town in Maine. Lena also brings up Hannah’s situation with her father, mentioning her own plethora of stepfathers in an effort to bond, but Hannah doesn’t give her much, but it’s enough for her to figure out not all is well in the Driscoll household. 

After the food bank, Lena decides to make another visit to the ball-free sculpture, to check whether the ball could have gotten loose in some normal way. Before she can do that though, she runs in to the Rev. That wasn’t totally unexpected but it is bothersome. 

”Hello, again, Ms. Branigan. The dinner yesterday was lovely, wasn’t it?” 

”Yes, it was. Thank you for having me.” 

”I hear you are fast becoming friends with my Hannah. That’s lovely.” Lena just smiles and nods. “I also heard you keep asking about this here sculpture, and some other possibly strange happenings in this town. I can assure you, this is a God fearing town and we don’t abide anything out of the ordinary.” 

Yet just then, a butterfly makes it way to the Rev’s shoulder, just like the one that Lena found in her room the night before, and then the Rev’s necklace stands up oddly, and like it was pulled by a magnet towards the hood of a car, the Rev with it. Another car starts speeding towards him, seemingly without a driver, and Lena very quickly runs to the Rev and manages to cut off the chain just in time. 

The incident leaves the Rev visibly shaken, and he yells at Lena to leave him alone as he rages on his way back to the church. Lena can’t quite make out what he is saying, possible he calls her ‘trouble’, which she really doesn’t understand, since she has done nothing wrong to her knowledge. But it is becoming clear to her that something weird, possibly supernatural, is going on in this town. The metal ball, her cocoon, attack against the Rev. Two incidents involved butterflies, and she can’t know one way or another whether the first incident also involved butterflies, but it is a possibility. 

Lena decides to go check the Junior High School science fair, since Hannah was so kind as to invite her there. She wants to see what Bobby’s project was. She arrives at the school, and even though she is only in her mid-20s, it still seems weird to be at a school like this, seemingly without a reason. But no one really pays her any mind, and when she waves hello to Hannah, she can see that she is talking with that detective, Nathan. Clearly there is something actually going on, otherwise the cops would have already let the case be. 

Lena is trying to find Bobby but he doesn’t seem to be around, but she does find his science project. His topic is butterflies, just like the ones that attacked her and the Rev. Clearly, Bobby is involved in this somehow, but she has no idea what. She doesn’t even know what ‘this’ is. She needs to find Bobby and talk to him about this. 

She tries to leave the gym where the science fair is held, but she finds that the doors don’t open. Which is actually a good thing, because something odd is again going on. The floor is flooding slightly and there are broken wires that let out electricity and if anyone was within that hallway right now, they’d be in danger. Lena hears some odd sound and sees that someone is in danger, Nathan the cop just pulled a bench for him to stand on away from the electricity. Lena is not quite sure what to do, until she sees a fire alarm right by her door. She pulls it, Nathan turns to look in her direction and the water slowly disappears and the wires stand still. When she tries the door now, it opens easily. 

The hallway looks safe now, so Lena enters into it. 

”Thanks,” Nathan says, as he steps down from the bench and pushes it back into its normal place. 

”You’re welcome. I’m Lena, I’m new here. I’m friends with Hannah and Bobby.” She’s not quite sure why she feels the need to introduce herself like this but she does. 

”Right. Um, Nathan Wuornos. Do you know where Bobby might be? I was looking for him while this water damage happened.” 

”Haven’t seen him today. He wasn’t showing his project when I was there.” 

”Right. Thanks anyway,” Nathan puts his hands in his pocket, nods and turns away toward another part of the school. Lena is not quite sure what to make of him or this meeting, but she probably has time for that later. Now, she needs to find Bobby and figure out what is happening in this town. 

She tries to find Hannah again but even though Bobby’s project is still there, the people she asks tell her that both Bobby and Hannah left already but no one can say where. Lena decides to try them at their home. 

The only thing she finds there is a drunken Rev, ranting about curses and the devil and the troubled. 

”You have no idea who you are, little girl,” he tells her ominously before passing out. Lena goes upstairs to Bobby’s room and finds it empty of people but there are items that fit what has been happening in town. It doesn’t really make sense, but Bobby must somehow be responsible. 

She is in the middle of examining them more closely when she hears some yelling and then Nathan arrives. 

”What are you doing here?” 

Lena holds her hands palms up, ”Something very weird is going on in this town and I am just trying to find and help my new friends.” 

”Who exactly are you?” 

”Lena Branigan. I’m starting at the _Herald_ next week. Hannah is a possible friend and Bobby might have cocooned me in a blanket the other night. I’m just trying to help.” 

Nathan looks incredulous about the whole situation and Lena can’t really blame him. She has no idea what is going on. 

”This is a police matter. You shouldn’t be involved. It doesn’t matter that Hannah is your friend or not.” 

Lena is not sure how to take Nathan’s words. He is right, in a way, but there is just something about this that makes her feel like she can’t leave it alone. 

”Do you know where they are going? I might be able to help.” 

”I doubt it. I really do not know you and I can’t let you get involved in this.” 

”Well, I don’t really know you from Adam, either, but I just told you that Bobby probably somehow cocooned me in my blanket, so I know something weird and not normal is going on here. You didn’t really deny that happened, so you must know something is going on here. Let me help with my friends and I won’t contact a newspaper that isn’t the _Haven Herald_ about my experience.” 

Nathan scoffs, “No one will believe you.” 

”But you do. I won’t be a bother, I promise.” 

Nathan clearly struggles with his decision. Both of them are aware they should be moving quickly with this, so a decision has to be made. Neither one of them has a reason to really trust the other. But now is no time for hesitation. 

”Fine. I’ll take you with me, so you can help deal with Hannah and Bobby. But you have to promise not to say anything about this. Not that anyone will believe you, but we can’t let out any rumors.” 

”Thank you! Where are they going?” Lena starts walking down the stairs with Nathan. 

”A place on Twin Pines Road,--” 

”That’s where Bobby’s parents died.” Hannah gave Lena a cliffnotes version of how Bobby ended up living with the Driscolls and she mentioned the place where they died. 

Nathan gives her a weird look, “Yeah.” 

Before Lena and Nathan can leave the house, the Rev is awake and has some choice words for Nathan. “You keep that devil’s spawn away from this house, Nathan. And if my daughter doesn’t forsake him, tell her she’s disowned too!” 

None of this means anything to Lena, but Nathan is clearly upset about the words. As they leave, the Rev yells something about the ‘troubles’ but Lena still doesn’t have any clue of what that could mean. 

They drive in silence in Nathan old Blue Bronco. Neither one of them know one another, although it’s clear they have a mutual friend in Hannah. That’s enough for now. 

Until suddenly, the Bronco is full of butterflies. That gets both of them talking. 

”Damnit!” Nathan says. 

”Weird things happens when there are butterflies. Do you think Bobby might be trying to deal with his parents’ death?” Nathan gives her a look that tells her he is really struggling with figuring out what to tell her or not. Apparently, he decides to go with the bare minimum. “Possibly.” 

Suddenly, Lena thinks she feels Bobby’s presence in the car. She can’t explain it, so she doesn’t even try, so she just accepts it and leans into the situation. She talks to Bobby like she were his mother and even though Nathan’s car does hit the railing, they all end up OK, with barely a scratch on them. Lena has no idea how to explain that to herself or anyone else, so as Nathan drives them the rest of the way, the car is silent. 

They find Bobby and Hannah, both relatively OK and while Nathan has an intense discussion with Hannah about something, Lena comforts Bobby. She never thought she was very maternal but she does an OK job with Bobby. She vaguely wonders whether some night terror medication might help him.

The next day, she and Nathan both help Hannah and Bobby pack, because the Rev was serious about kicking them out. Lena still doesn't really understand what is going on, but she has a feeling she will. 

*** 

During the next few weeks, Lena runs into many other weird occurances, including a picture of a woman who could easily be related to her in some way (probably from her Dad's side) in the _Herald_ archives from 1983. Even though she didn't remember really hearing about Haven before she got there, it's becoming clear to her that she is somehow connected to this town. She feels like she finally has a purpose and she can finally get her life together.


	3. Tracy Martin, doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tracy Martin, Newton, Mass./ Chicago, Illinois  
> Nathan, Hannah, Duke 1x1-1x3  
> Tracy Martin is interested in (Troubled) cases  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for GreyHaven, who loves Tracy *heart*. I'm writing Tracy as abrosexual also for her.
> 
> Abrosexual: Abrosexuality is defined as being fluid in sexuality. This means that a sexuality changes very often. This is different from novosexuality because abrosexuals can usually tell what sexuality they are at that moment.
> 
> Nathan is also openly demi here, because it's my fic and I say so.

Tracy doesn't really like small towns. The shopping is terrible and the dating options are limited (her abrosexuality is currently making her feel very bi and dating heavy, even though she didn't have much luck in Chicago). It also won't quite get her the rush she went into emergency medicine for. But she's heard that Haven, Maine isn't any old small town, but one with lots of interesting conditions, so hopefully she won't lack excitement. And it's near enough to a few bigger cities and it's close to Mass. so she could visit home if she wanted. It’s still New England and she has missed it a bit. 

She's not planning on being here long, but there was an interesting resident opening, so she decided to try it. She feels like giving back to smaller communities. While Haven is not New Zealand, it’s still very different compared to Chicago. 

She works at Haven Regional Hospital, and she is surprised just how busy the ER actually is. She saw a lot of weird things in Chicago, but Haven in on another level. She’s up for the challenge, sure, but the secrecy surrounding a lot of her cases weird her out. In a good way. 

She’s been in Haven about a week when the weather starts doing really weird things, that not even Maine can really account for. That leads to lot of busyness. A fog arising out of nowhere leads to lots of car accidents and MVCs. Including a near miss one for someone rather grumpy. 

”Hey, I’m Nathan Wuornos, I almost got hit by a car. I’m supposed to get an MRI, and I think those are overrated.” 

Tracy smiles, “Let me guess. You’re not a doctor, but I’m guessing someone who deals with these a lot. EMT?” 

”Nope.” Nathan shows her his badge. “I’ve just had a lot of these over the past few years. I know my body well enough to know when there’s an issue, and I don’t think that’s the case.” 

”Alright, Detective Wuornos. Let’s see. Dr. Eleanor Carr is the one who sent you here, I’ve met her, she’s trust worthy. Let me be the judge of whether this was useless or not. Let’s get you to Radiology.” 

”I know the way.” 

”Good. I’m kinda new so you can lead me there.” 

Nathan and Tracy exchange smiles. 

Tracy completely buys Nathan’s stick, because he clearly knows the routine by now. She also doesn’t see anything unusual in his scans and he seems cognitively fine. 

”You were right. You’re good to go.” 

”Thanks.” 

”I didn’t realize being a cop in a small town Maine is so dangerous that you’d need to keep coming for MRIs,” Tracy comments, genuinely curious. 

Nathan smirks a bit ”You’d be surprised.” 

”Maybe I will. This town is really not what I expected.” 

”Yeah?” Nathan asks, his lips pursed together like he’s trying not to say something. 

”Yeah.” 

”Well, I have a case to finish, so nice to meet you…” 

”Tracy. If things are the way you say they are, we might meet again soon.” 

”We might.” 

*** 

The weather keeps getting weirder and more random, but when Tracy tries to engage people in small talk, no one says anything beyond, ‘It’s Maine, you’ll get used to it’. Tracy is pretty sure that is not the whole case but she knows it’s a small town cliché to not to talk to outsiders. She can bide her time. She finds herself surprisingly curious about what it is that makes Haven tic. 

One thing she does appreciate about small towns? The gossip is everywhere. Everyone knows everyone else’s business and even though they are not exactly telling it all to Tracy, she still hears a lot. It doesn’t take long before she starts hearing about ‘you-know-whats’, and that really piques her interest. She wonders whether the weather is connected to those. 

*** 

A few days after their first meeting, she meets Nathan again. Nathan got shot in the shoulder by a stray bullet while working on a case. Tracy is not completely sure about the timing, but she suspects it happened while that freak storm was happening. 

Nathan is again a model patient, so much so she starts wondering whether there’s something to it. He has the demeanor of someone with a chronic condition but he doesn’t show much signs of that. Well, that’s why they are called invisible conditions. 

”It doesn’t look too bad. Does this hurt?” she asks as she puts pressure on his shoulder. She needs to figure out whether the bullet damaged anything there. 

”I don’t know.” 

That answer definitely raises Tracy’s curiosity. 

”I have IPN, idiopathic neuropathy. I can’t feel anything.” 

”Oh.” Tracy tries to keep her interest in check. Sometimes she can be a bit too enthusiastic about interesting cases. “That’s why lots of MRI visit.” 

”That was my 9th in the past few years.” 

”Wow.” 

Nathan looks at her curiously. “You find my condition exciting?” 

Tracy laughs, ”A tiny bit. It’s a pretty rare condition. So you don’t feel anything, physically?” 

”Nope.” 

”How long have you had it?" 

”I had it as a kid and it came back a few years ago. And ‘no’, you cannot write a paper on it.” 

”Wasn’t going to ask.” 

”Right," Nathan's voice is full of sarcasm. 

”Alright, your shoulder is done. You will have to wear the sling for a few days, so that you don’t aggrivate the wound. Can you do that, Nathan?” 

”Yes, I can. I am not a child.” 

”Oh. Sorry.” She did sound a bit condescending, didn't she? 

”It’s fine. I’m used to it.” 

As Nathan is getting ready to go, Tracy asks, “Hey, what do you think about this weird weather we’re having?” 

Nathan half shrugs, “It’s Maine. The weather’s weird here. Bye, Tracy.” 

”Bye, Nathan.” 

*** 

Tracy starts settling in Haven more easily than she thought she would. There isn’t really much shopping to do, but she takes in the ocean and the woods and really enjoys the deceptively calm atmosphere. She makes weekend trips to Portland, but it really isn’t much better than Haven, and even makes way to Boston for the first time in many years. There she gets some much needed retail therapy and meets up with friends. Coming back here really wasn’t that terrible a decision. 

Yet Haven’s weirdness continues. People keep seeing butterflies before strange stuff happens, like metal ball sculptures destroying bars and rogue electric cables at the Junior High. 

One day, a woman comes to the hospital, talking about her foster son’s horrible night terrors. The kid, Bobby, seems really exhausted, so she gives them some medicine that she thinks might help with the terrors and suggests some counseling. There’s not much else she can actually do. 

*** 

Tracy adapts to Haven’s culture quite quickly. Weird things keep happening, with weird symptoms and conditions popping up everywhere and how meticulous their reports have to be. The town is clearly hiding something, yet, she’s not quite local enough to know what. She’s pretty sure it’s something everything knows but doesn’t talk about. 

Tracy has already heard about the Freddy when the call comes that something went down over there. Supposedly the head doctor, Rudy Lucassi, had a break down and attacked the staff, and some patients probably also got violent. They don’t tell the whole story to Tracy, but she’s picking up on these things already. 

Tracy listens intently for any rumors or information she hears, wanting to find out what is really going on. She’s become friends with the coroner, Eleanor, and she often listens to her frustrations about this town and its weirdness, although she refuses to give her any answers, even though Tracy is pretty sure she has some. Which is weird, because she trusts her enough to talk up her daughter, Julia, to her, in a way that Tracy is pretty sure means she wants to set them up once she comes back from wherever she is (Eleanor thinks it’s Darfur, but Tracy gets the vibe she’s not sure). 

Looking at the Freddie patients, it's clear someone has really done a number on these people. One of them got defenestrated, and lots of others were otherwise attacked. She gets her hands on a toxicology report on Lucassi, but there are no odd drugs in his system. Very peculiar. She wishes she could talk to Lucassi, maybe he has some idea what happened to him. 

Although the Freddy situation is barely under control, soon they get new patients from the Shiny Scupper. Tracy’s seen the place, although she hasn’t gone inside, since it’s not her type of place. More violence, and attacks. Some of the behavior seems like adrenaline rushes, so Tracy decides to make that a possible cause in her reports. A few attackers are brought to them sedated, and seeing the aftermath, the blackouts, the uncertainty, she really wants to know what is going on, for everyone who is affected by whatever this is. 

She gets a surprising source of information when Nathan comes back to the ER, looking like an absolute mess. There’s another man with him, and Tracy can immediately tell that the two of them got into a fight with each other. 

They seem to be continuing their fight verbally as the other man quietly asks Nathan something he clearly doesn’t like. Tracy can only make out, 

”Be straight with me. The Troubles are back, aren’t they?” before Nathan shuts the other man, Duke, up. 

’The Troubles’? Is that what is going on here? Catchy term. But she doesn’t have much time to think about that before they are at the desk. 

”Hi, Tracy.” 

”You know a nurse? Good for you, Wuornos.” 

”I’m a doctor,” Tracy says, annoyed. 

”Even better,“ Duke continues and there’s something about the way he says it that makes Tracy let out a frustrated laugh. It has been pretty quiet for her on the romance front since she’s been to Haven (she hasn’t even really checked where her abrosexuality has her sexuality now), but she really shouldn’t go for just any charming flirter. 

She looks at her watch, her shift is ending soon. She will just get these two guys handled and then go home. Or maybe do some investigating. 

”Fix him first, “ Nathan says, and there is none of that sarcastic cop to be seen now. Tracy’s pretty sure Nathan is the one who was affected by whatever this is, and he’s clearly upset about it. 

”Alright. Stay here, I’ll come pick you up soon.” 

She takes Duke behind a gurney and starts taking a incident report. 

”What seems to be the matter?” 

”I just got punched and strangled for a bit, so my throat is pretty sore physically and I won’t mind stitches on my cheek, but I’d prefer it if you wouldn’t damage my lovely face.” 

Tracy laughs again. Duke is definitely charming, and flirty, and cute. “I’ll try my best.” 

She concentrates on the physical check-out, at the same time wondering whether Duke might be willing to talk about what is going on in Haven. “Mind telling me what actually happened?” 

Duke falls silent, clearly thinking exactly how to talk about what happened. He ends up going with, “I told you already.” 

Tracy looks towards the waiting room, where Nathan looks like he wants to burst out of his own skin. 

”It was Nathan, right? Something happened to him, and he attacked you?” Tracy decides to be blunt. She doesn’t know who knows what in this town, but she’s pretty sure Duke is in the know. 

Duke looks at her suspiciously. 

”Look, I haven’t been here long but I already know Haven is not an ordinary town. And I came here from Chicago, so trust me, I know weird. We’ve been getting patients like you and Nathan all day. I just wanna know if there is something I could do to help.” She decides not to mention that she heard the term ‘Troubles’ from him. 

The look on Duke’s face changes, like he was seeing a long lost relative. “You know, you really remind me of someone.” 

”I’ve been getting that a bit.” 

”Look, if Nathan wants to talk some more about what happened, then that’s on him. But I’ve said all I’m going to say. Unless you’d like to go to dinner with me sometime, then I’ll definitely have a lot more to say.” 

Tracy smiles, “I bet you do. Fine. You’re done. It’s gonna take a few days for your cheek to heal, but it shouldn’t scar. And here’s a prescription for painkillers for your throat. You’re free to go.” 

”Thanks. Although me and Nathan still have something to deal with, so I’m gonna wait for him.” 

Tracy is curious about that, but lets it go. “Suit yourself.” 

They walk back to where Nathan is sitting, still very anxious. “Your turn.”

Nathan follows Tracy behind a gurney. He looks terrible. 

“Do you need to throw up?” 

”Only emotionally. I think.” 

”Let me know if you do. We have containers for that.” 

Tracy starts with putting some rubbing alcohol on Nathan’s lip, cheek and knuckles. Nathan is none the wiser. He really is an easy patient. She tries to look him over, but his clothes obscure most of him. 

”Um, I need you to take off your jacket, I need to check you for injuries I can’t see and you can’t feel or remember.” 

Nathan takes of his jacket and Tracy notices two things. One, his elbow has burns. Two, he’s wearing a black ring on his middle finger, which she hadn’t noticed before. 

She concentrates first on his elbow. “Do you know where you got this?” 

Nathan looks at his elbow with a weird disinterest. “No. I blacked out.”

Tracy nods. She’s not surprised that whatever this is lead to self-harm behavior for some. Whatever it is, it does a number on people’s inhibitions. 

”That’s a cool ring,” Tracy decides to go with a different tactic. Nathan is still barely here, so a topic change might help. 

Nathan looks first confused, then looks down at his right hand. “Oh, thanks.” 

”Wrong place for a wedding ring, though.” 

”Yeah, it’s not that type of ring.” Nathan takes a moment to decide whether to elaborate. “It’s an ace ring.” 

Tracy is surprised Nathan actually told her, but she’s glad. “Cool. I’m abrosexual myself. Can’t wear rings at work and I’m not sure a black ring is my style, exactly. But it works for you.” 

The topic change seems to be working, Nathan is coming back into himself more, ”Abro, huh? That’s cool. I’m actually demi.” 

”Aspec high five,” Tracy says and Nathan does go to high five her when Tracy adds, “Maybe that can wait until I’m not actually wearing bloody gloves.” 

”Probably, yeah.” Nathan is smiling again. Good. 

”Are you ready to talk about what happened?” 

The smile freezes on Nathan’s face. 

”Look, I know something is going on here. Duke called them 'the Troubles'. At a hospital, you hear a lot of rumors. Weird weather, butterflies freaking havoc, stuff like that. This isn’t a normal town. I think I want to help.” 

Nathan takes a long look at her, trying to decide whether to trust her, ”If something weird is going on, these so-called Troubles, what can you do about it?” 

”I don’t know yet. I just think I want to.” Tracy can’t quite explain it to herself. Haven should not be her type of town, yet somehow, it is. “Patients like you, like Duke, have been coming in and out all day. There has to be some type of cause. Do you know what it is? Or _who_ it is?” 

She can see Nathan react to her last question, clearly she hit a nerve. “You know who it is, don’t you.” 

”Am I done?” Nathan asks abruptly. 

Tracy looks him over, “Yes.” 

”Thanks.” Nathan takes his jacket and leaves quickly, and Tracy can see that he doesn’t even wait for Duke, who has to scramble after him. 

Tracy looks down at her watch. Her shift is over. She rubs at her eyes, it’s been a long and tiring day. But this day and its events won’t leave her alone. What does she have to do to get these people to trust her with what is going on? For them to tell her about these Troubles. She’s involved with dealing with them, she deserves to know what is going on. But there's really nothing else she can do right now. She needs to go home. 

But before she can leave, a man comes to the desk with a woman with an injured arm.

"Please, you have to help my wife!" 

Tracy looks around, she's the only one available. A few stitches won't hurt. "OK, follow me." 

"Can we, is there any way to go somewhere isolated?" 

Tracy looks at them with slight suspicion, but she does know a place. "Yeah." 

Tracy takes them to a room she didn't know the use of before, but it's far enough from everything, and slightly sound proofed that Tracy thinks that is good enough. She starts dealing with Lily's hand but soon she starts twitching and mumbling something unintelligible, pulling her hand away from Tracy and seemingly trying to write in the air.

"Oh no. I was hoping I still had time." Ray picks up a harmonica from his pocket and with a "I'm so sorry about this," he starts to play.

The difference in Lily is almost immediate and the smile on Ray's face as he stops playing is a sight to see. But as soon as he knows Lily's alright again, he looks at Tracy and she can't interpret the look on his face.

"Nothing happened to you, why?" 

Tracy has been watching it all unfold curiously and now, she's as confused as Ray.

"So, you're the cause? You've been doing this to people? Through music?" 

Ray looks confused at her knowledge. "Yes. My grandfather told me to stay away from music, but I didn't listen. Lily writes music too. This whole thing is new though."

"Have you heard about the Troubles?" 

"You know about them?" 

"A little bit. I've seen your handiwork all day today." 

"I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. I just want Lily to be OK." 

"Ray, if keeping me sane is hurting people, I don't want you to keep doing it." 

"I know that. I don't want to hurt people either. I was going to take you out to sea on my boat, far enough from everyone else to affect them. But the effect wore off and you hurt your hand. I needed to get you fixed before we could go." 

"Does Nathan Wuornos know about this? I think he was looking for you just now, with Duke Crocker." 

"Duke knows where my boat is. Do you think they will stop us from leaving?" 

"I don't know. Nathan was really shaken up in the aftermath of your Trouble. Maybe I could talk with him? Explain it. I think the fact that this Trouble didn't effect me gives me some authority." 

Ray looks indecisive but eventually nods. "Call him." 

*** 

They meet up at Ray's boat and Tracy explains Ray's plan to Nathan. 

"How can he be sure he won't effect anyone else? I can't have him put other people in danger." 

"Nathan, I know the sea. I can stay at a safe distance, and only go to shore when we absolutely need supplies. I can't not help Lily now that I know how. This is best for everyone." 

"And it's not like you can really charge him with anything," Tracy adds. 

Nathan gives her an annoyed look while Duke laughs a bit. 

"Maybe that is for the best," he finally relents. 

Ray and Lily share happy smiles and they get on the boat. Tracy, Nathan and Duke wave them off. 

After they disappear over the horizon, Duke leaves, although not before telling Nathan that they need to talk about something soon. Nathan just nods. 

Then it's just Tracy and Nathan. 

"So, you know about the Troubles?" He asks, not really looking at Tracy. 

"Almost nothing except that they exist, I guess." 

"The timing doesn't make sense," Nathan says only half speaking to Tracy. "Ray must have fixed Lily not that long ago. Weren't you affected?" He looks at her now. 

"No, I wasn't. Nothing happened to me when he played the harmonica." 

"I don't understand. It took one note, maybe two of the piano for me to lose my sanity. How can you be fine?" 

"I don't know," a note of panic is creeping into Tracy's voice. 

"Still want that aspec high five?" Nathan asks seemingly out of nowhere. 

Tracy looks down at her bare hand, "Sure, I guess." 

Nathan holds up his hand and Tracy slaps hers to his. 

The reaction on Nathan's face is something she has never quite seen before. 

"I felt that. My Trouble is that I don't feel anything. But I felt you. How?" 

Everything is suddenly happening so much and Tracy can only say, "I don't know." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sequel: Coffee with Abro!Tracy and Demi!Nathan https://archiveofourown.org/works/15854019


	4. Trish Merrick,(Jennings and Rall)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trish Merrick, Jericho, Kansas/Cheyenne, Wyoming  
> (Jericho post-2x5 Termination for Cause/ Haven 1x4 Consumed)
> 
> Trish decided to get out of Jericho, but she didn't want to go back to Cheyenne. Luckily, there was a small town in Maine that needs J&R supervisor.
> 
> Haven, Maine has dealt with apocalypsey events before. What's one more?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this took so long because it took me a while to figure out how to fuse these two worlds. Hopefully the approach I took in this fic works.

After everything that happened in Jericho, Bonnie's death and the Ravenwood fallout, Trish needs to relocate. A part of her wants far away from Jennigs & Rall, but even with the setbacks, she still thinks J&R is needed in rebuilding this country, or what's left of it. 

Instead of staying in one place, she travels all over the country. She tries not to get attached to people. Because as much as J&R likes to pretend otherwise, this country still needs a lot of work to overcome what it became during the lawlessness period. Everyone is still trying to recover. 

Yet when she arrives in Haven, Maine, things feel different. The coastal town seems remarkably recovered. Maybe that's why J&R sent her here. There was little reported activity by Ravenwood, or conflicts with nearby towns. Apparently, small town Maine knows how to stick together and mind its own business. 

It makes Trish wonder why she was sent here in the first place, but she soon finds out that there is some suspicious activities going on. They are just a lot more small scale than she envisioned. But maybe that's good. She can do small scale. 

*** 

There's something going wrong with the food in Haven. Haven manages to be rather self sufficient, managing to feed its 25,000 people well enough with fish and local produce, enough so that it has a fancy restaurant that is still open, but it does still need help with some products, so J&R sends them food packages. The need for those suddenly increased because according to Havenites, a lot of food is going bad. Trish likes doing this type of stuff, investigating problems, even though it's a bit out of her job description, so she takes on the responsibility for food deliveries to Haven. Should be easy. 

But Trish can already tell there is something really odd going on in town, beyond the whole 'the world practically ended a year ago'. There is something going on that Trish can't put her finger on, but there is something about this town. Trish knows small towns, and this is something different. 

Her feeling about the town is helped by the fact that Trish was there. She was just checking out the local farmer's market, to see what Haven has and what it needs, when suddendly some foods started to rot right in front of her. Fruits and produce all going bad in an instant. It doesn't make sense. 

Trish had just wanted to see whether Haven has some tips she can bring with her to other towns when she leaves, but then this happened. It's no wonder they need to rely on extra food packages. 

She tries to ask the other patrons what they think happened, but they are rather tight lipped yet a few sellers come talk to her because of her J&R uniform. This seems to have been happening for a while but no one has any explanation they are willing to share with her. Her own investigation doesn't get her far. But she is curious to figure out what is happening here. It might explain why she is needed here at all. 

*** 

One of the vendors mentions that she filed a police report with a Detective Nathan Wuornos. Trish goes to the police station to meet with him, to see if his investigation is any more fruitful (pun intended) than hers. She finds him in the Detectives office. When she sees him, she realizes she did see him earlier at the Farmer's Market, taking notes of what happened. 

"Hello, are you Detective Wuornos?" 

"... Yes." even though the pause isn't long, it is noticiable. Trish hopes she said the name right. 

"Great. I was at the Farmer's Market earlier today and I was curious whether you know what happened?" Trish puts on her best customer service voice, hoping that it will charm Nathan. 

"I'm sorry. Who are you and why should I give you such information?" 

"Oh, I'm Trish Merrick, I'm from Jennings & Rall. I'm here to make sure Haven has enough food and other supplies, although your town is doing a much better job since the incident than most. But that was a curious situation. Really weird." 

”I guess,” Nathan says with slight disbelief. 

”So, anyway, I need to file a report for J&R, explain what is going on so they can send enough food, while knowing it goes to its proper purpose. With food being so scarce, can't have people tricking J&R to get more than they need.” Trish feels kinda bad going into J&R's speal about food distribution. But while she could just file a report saying it was some type of pesticide that ruined the food and Haven needs replacements, Trish is curious to know what is actually going on here. Making it sound more official by evoking J&R might help. 

”I understand that. But Ms. Merrick, there wasn't really anything out of the ordinary with what happened today. It was a bad patch, maybe because of the aftermath of the incident. These things happen. There's really nothing else I can tell you. But please, check out what else Haven has to offer. The Second Chance Bistro is re-opening tomorrow. You can enjoy local ingredients there.” 

”Alright. Maybe I will,” Trish stands up and to her surprise, so does Nathan. Small town manners, gotta love them. Nathan walks her out of his office and they exchange awkward smiles. The encounter makes Trish all the more certain that something is going on here in Haven. 

*** 

Trish spends the day checking out some farms that she knows were a victim of whatever this is. She finds out a lot, but not really anything to give her a proper lead on how to proceed. She doesn't have access to information that might tell her what the farms have in common. Is someone targetted? She really has no idea what might be going on. 

After a day of followed up leads but no theories, Trish goes to The Second Chance for dinner, wearing a blue dress with pockets. The place looks rather nice, very coastal Maine. The place is quite packed, which seems nice and normal after everything this country has gone through. She goes to the bar to get a drink when she notices a man signing but not getting any service. It's moments like this that make her happy she chose American Sign Language. She takes a moment to figure out what the man is saying and then goes up to him, touching his shoulder gently. 

”Hey. Do you need some help?” she signs and the man looks very relieved. 

”Yes, thank you. I am trying to get a gin and tonic.” 

Trish smiles to the man and calls for the bartender, giving her their orders, ”One gin and tonic for my friend and a Manhattan for me.” 

”Sorry for the wait, it's rather hectic in here,” the bartender apologizes and Trish nods in understanding. 

Trish turns back to the man and introduces herself, ”My name is T-R-I-S-H, what's yours?” 

”My name is G-R-A-Y-S-O-N. It's so nice to have someone who knows sign language. Are you hearing?” 

”Yes, but I always wanted to learn sign language. Luckily my employer understands the importance of linguistic variety so I could learn it.” 

As they wait for their drinks they continue having small talk in ASL. It's so nice to use it again. It makes her think of Bonnie. When their drinks arrive they exchange numbers but go their seperate ways. Grayson makes his way to some friends and Trish stays at the bar. 

Trish notices Nathan sitting alone at a nearby table and she tries to decide whether to intrude on him. Well, she is lacking a table, so maybe he won't mind. 

”Hello again!” 

”Oh. Ms. Merrick. You came.” 

”Please, call my Trish. Do you mind if I sit with you? The place is more packed than I thought.” 

”Um, of course.” 

”So, are you here to just enjoy local food, or does this place have something to do with the events at the Farmer's Market?” Trish asks while sipping on her Manhattan. 

Nathan's eyes narrow in suspicions, ”If I didn't know better I'd think you were a journalist. Why are you so interested?” 

Trish shrugs, ”I don't know, actually. Maybe I just like having a weird mystery to occupy my mind.” 

”Why?” there is genuine concern in Nathan's voice. Which is really odd, they only met today. 

”The last place where I was stationed, Jericho, a person died because of a money discrepancy and it was my fault. It's nice to have something more simple and less dangerous.” 

Nathan doesn't seem as convinced of the lack of danger but before Trish can ask him about it, a tall man sits down on the third seat of the table. It's odd and distruptive and Nathan doesn't seem happy about it either, although in his case it's because he knows the man and while Trish's feelings are because she doesn't. 

”Look at you, Nathan. Out on the town with a beautiful woman. What are the odds?” 

”Since it's happening, the odds are very good. Did you smuggle anything for today's menu, Duke?” 

Trish is very taken a back by the exchange. Apparently the new man is a smuggler and Nathan doesn't like him, but she doesn't appreciate being relagated to some beautiful woman Nathan is having dinner with, especially since they haven't even established that she can call him Nathan. 

”I'm Trish Merrick from Jennings & Rall,” she tells Duke who shakes her hand. 

”Nice to meet you Trish. If Nathan here bores you, feel free to find me,” Duke leaves and makes his way to the kitchen. 

”Does he know the owners?” Trish asks. 

”Yeah, he and the McShaws go way back,” Nathan says, sounding terser than before. 

”And he's a smuggler?” 

”Yep.” 

”And you don't like him?” 

”Nope. We go way back, too.” 

”OK,” Trish kinda loves small town gossip and it's clear that there are plenty of untold stories between those two. 

”How much do you have to put into your report?” Nathan suddenly asks, the topic of small town drama left behind. 

”Not much. Most of this is my own curiosity.” 

Nathan looks at her intently for a minute before obviously coming to a decision. ”The farms affected today, they all supplied ingredients to Second Chance. And earlier today, they meant to serve dove but all of them died.” 

”Really? I hadn't heard of that.” 

”That's why I'm here. To investigate what is going on. I worry the McShaws are targetted, although given the current situation, I don't know why.” 

”Insurance fraud?” Trish suggests although like Nathan says, in the current world they are living in, destroying food doesn't seem too smart. 

”Who knows. Wanna help?” Nathan asks, and both of them feel a bit weird about it. Nathan is under no obligation to include Trish, and Trish has no reason to trust Nathan. And yet… 

”Absolutely!” Trish says right as the food arrives. 

Both of them look down at the food with worried faces. Should they try it? Will something happen to it? 

One of the McShaws, Geoff according to Nathan, gives a small speech about how proud he is to be able to keep their restaurant open during these troubling times and there is something very strange in Nathan's expression. 

But soon, people start eating and nothing happens. Neither Nathan nor Trish touch their food though, and they end up talking a little bit about themselves, when suddenly Nathan's face screws up horribly and then Trish smells the rotting fish and everyone starts throwing up, a small panic erupts in the restaurant. 

*** 

”That was definitely not normal.” 

”Yep,” Nathan agrees. 

Nathan's tone is oddly calm for what just happened, ”Is there something that you're not telling me about what is going on in this town?” 

Even though Nathan seemed to be opening up earlier, suddenly he looks like he simply can't find words. 

”You can't ask if I want to help and then clam up when you should explain things to me!” 

”Maybe I shouldn't have asked,” Nathan says with self blame in his tone. He starts making his way to his car, an ancient blue Ford Bronco and Trish follows him. When Nathan arrives at his car he turns and sees Trish and with a frustrated sigh starts talking to her. 

”Look, Haven is a weird, but normal place. You can't put that on your report, make sure we won't starve and then you can be on your way to the next town. Asking you for help was ridiculous. J&R has no role on what is going on here, and neither do you.” 

Before Trish can say anything, Nathan and his car are gone. 

”What just happened here?” Trish says out loud. She thought she was connecting with Nathan, but maybe he is right. She's not staying in Haven. Maybe she should let it keep its secrets. 

*** 

Trish doesn't sleep well in her room at Over the Way. She is trying to understand what is going on and why she is so curious in the first place. She is supposed to move on soon. Haven doesn't need active J&R presence, so she should soon move on to another town that does. But there is something about this town. 

Well, if Nathan won't help her with figuring this out, she could just talk to the McShaws themselves, see if they have any idea about what is going on. They might trust J&R more than Nathan (or Trish herself) does. 

In the afternoon, she goes to the Bistro again and she runs into Duke again. 

”Why, hello again, Ms. Trish. Is there a way I might be able to help you today?” 

”I don't think so. I'm here on official business,” she points at the J&R logo on her shirt, ”and from what I here, you don't really do official business.” 

Duke gives a hearty laugh at that, ”You're funny! Shame Nathan apparently got to you first.” 

”No one 'got to' me. Now please move, so I can go talk with the McShaws.” 

”Fine, you go first,” Duke says as he makes way for her. Even smugglers seem to have some manners here. 

Duke stays outside as Trish finds who she's looking for at the kitchen. J&R shirt really helps her move around. 

”Hi, I'm Trish Merrick from Jennings & Rall. I hear you are having some food issues, we might be able to help you with that. Do you have any idea about what is going on?” 

Awkwardly, it seems to Trish that she just walked in the middle of an argument. But her presence does seem to calm the situation because all the McShaws have stopped yelling and are instead looking at her. 

"Sorry to be so rude. Running a restaurant is really stressful, even when you don't have these problems. I'm Meg, this is my husband Bill and his brother Geoff. Trish, was it?"

Trish is happy the situation has calmed, "Yes, that's right. Like I said, I'm from J&R. We handle these types of situations sometimes. Can you tell me what is going on?" 

The McShaws show none of the hesitance Trish has encountered by other people in Haven when she's been asking for an explanation. They tell her about the produce, the birds, even the ice cream and cows (ice cream shop where the cows are? Very odd, very small town). She is starting to develop a theory of her own but it can't be the case. It makes no sense. 

She thanks the McShaws and makes her way to the police station. 

Nathan is sitting on his desk, doing paper work when Trish sits down on the visitor's chair. Nathan looks up at her and Trish makes that her cue to start talking. 

"Don't ask me how but it's Bill."

Nathan raises his eyebrow, "Bill?" 

"Yes. Bill McShaw is somehow making the food that he eats rot. I don't know how or why but I was just talking to them and those cows? Bill eats that ice cream. He's the only one access to all this food. It has to be him." 

Nathan looks even more thoughtful than he usually does. "So, your theory is that someone, Bill, is eating food and making it all rot. And your proof is Benjy's ice cream?" 

"I..." it does sound ridiculous. But Nathan doesn't sound as disbelieving as he should. Just enough to discourage her from pursuing this but not enough to be convincing. 

"You actually believe me?" 

"What? No, I don't." But Nathan sounds so unconvincing that Trish doesn't even say anything. "Why do you even care about what is going on here?" 

"I don't know. I just do. There's something about this town. I think I want to stay here," it feels weird to say all this so Trish avoids Nathan's face and looks down at his hands. His hands, one of which is pushing a pencil into his palm yet Nathan doesn't seem to even notice.

"What are you doing?" 

Nathan looks confused then he looks down at his hands and drops the pencil. "Nothing." 

Trish decides to let that go for now. "If I promise to keep it secret and stay in Haven, will you tell me what is going on? I helped you figure out this case."

"This case without an actual crime," Nathan clarifies. For a moment silence reigns between them. "You have to understand that this isn't some childhood secret that we pinky swear on. This is serious." 

"I understand. I want to know what is going on and I want to help." When Nathan still doesn't say anything, Trish continues, "If problems like these keep popping up, I can keep them quiet. I can handle J&R. After what happened, you need help staying secret." 

Nathan takes another moment to consider before he gets up, closes his door and starts, "There are stories about this town. They are known as the Troubles."


	5. Lauren Baker, realtor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lauren Baker, Winters (,California?)/ Chicago, Illinois  
> Perfect Plan/1x7 Sketchy, 1x12 Resurfacing, 3x6 Real Estate  
> (Nathan looks like Sean/Keenan)  
> In the Loop/Tradewinds Realtor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time, no update. Took me a while to get inspired and to figure out how to write this but I gotta say, I would love a supernatural show about a realtor. That idea sounds like a lot of fun. Hopefully I managed to do something fun with it here.

Lauren Baker wants come changes in her life. While her life is settling again after all the murders and scams, she’s starting to feel like Chicago isn’t the place for her anymore. She loves her friend Maddie, who luckily recuperated from her car chase perfectly, but since she did get a new job, they haven’t seen each other that much lately. And even though Lauren did eventually manage to sell the Crawford house to its original buyers, there was no saving In the Loop after that scandal. She needs to start over. 

Even her potential something with Garrett Crawford didn’t work out. He sold his house through her, and then wanted to get back to Baltimore. Garrett was a nice person who tragically lost his siblings to a conman, Keenan Blake, who knew how to act because Garrett used to confide in him. Lauren feels bad for him, and they did try to have a little something, but as she learned from _Speed_ and its sequel, trauma bonding isn’t a good basis for a relationship. And after Francois, she’s really burned out on dating anyway. So, Baltimore and Garrett is not the answer she’s looking for. But Chicago might not be it either. 

Selling the Crawford house does give her a nice little nest egg, even after all the legal costs, so she can think about her future in peace. She doesn’t have to become a website designer. Not yet anyway. 

As her luck would have it, an acquaintance Carol Tintle contacts her. Carol has heard about what has been going on with her and asks Lauren whether she would be interested in changing scenery and coming to work with her at Tradewinds Realty Inc. Lauren doesn’t know Carol that well, but an opportunity is an opportunity. She decides to hear her out. Carol talks about her home in Haven, Maine. She talks about how beautiful it is, how close to nature. About the sea and small town feel, with lots of empty real estate. 

Lauren will give it to her, Carol is a good seller. But she’s not quite sure. Should she move to the other side of the country to sell real estate? She does love doing it. She promises to think about it and give Carol a call with her decision. First step is looking into Haven and what it has to offer. 

Carol is right. It’s a very beautiful place with lots of potential. Considering the location, it’s oddly cheap too. She does some more digging and turns out, the insurance rates leave a lot to be desired. Curious. She decides to check out the local newspaper, and comes to the conclusion that there are severe infrastructure issues. So many gas leaks. But it would be even further away from Winter, there’s no way her family would ever stumble in to Haven, Maine. The real estate market does seem fascinating, too. Lauren is still considering her choices when she gets another phone call. Wow, she’s popular today. 

”Lauren Baker speaking, how may I help you?” 

”Are you the Lauren Baker from In the Loop Realtors?” asks a deep, masculine voice. 

”Well, yes. Kinda. In the Loop is out of business, but it was my company.” 

”Ah, curious. Do you still work as a realtor, then?” 

”I still have my license. I am in between realtor firms right now, but I am sure I can help you with whatever you need.” 

”Good. My name is Byron Howard, and I am looking for a house to rent on the East Coast.” 

”I see. Well, considering I am in Seattle…” 

”So am I. I found your business card and thought you might still be able to help me. Maybe you have some contacts over there?” 

Lauren takes a moment to think about it, “You know what? Let’s have a meeting, and I’ll see what I can do.” 

\--- 

The meeting with Byron Howard goes well, she gets the job without having to disclose whether she would like to sleep with him or not, so that’s a bonus. Mr. Howard is a black man in his 40s or 50s who wants to live by the Atlantic Ocean. Lauren did see some lovely properties when she was just looking into Haven, Maine. She asks whether he might be interested in Maine. Mr. Howard looks at her curiously, before telling her he’s heard good things about the place. That takes Lauren aback a little (she hadn’t heard of the place before today), but she adjusts quickly. They look up a few properties, and Lauren promises to contact Carol over at Tradewinds to set up appointments. 

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Baker,” Mr. Howard says as they depart. He pauses curiously before her name, but Lauren has no idea what to make of that. In general, it felt like Howard was constantly trying to figure her out. Oh, well, a job’s a job, and she’s had worse clients. Sean Crawford/Keenan Blake definitely included. 

Lauren contacts Carol again, and explains the situation. They agree that Lauren and Mr. Howard will travel to Haven soon to look at the properties, and Lauren can decide whether or not Haven and Tradewinds is right for her too. 

\--- 

About a week later, Lauren makes her way to Haven. He will meet Carol and Mr. Howard there while she gets to know the town and they look at some possible properties. It might be good for Lauren to do work on a smaller scale than in Chicago. She’s really getting around on the idea of staying in Haven for a while. 

Tradewinds Realty seems to have a lovely little operation going on, and the people are nice and welcoming. Mr. Howard turns out to be a pretty easy client, they find a place for him near the marina pretty easily and they finish the sale very quickly. It feels a little odd to Lauren, given the economy and Howard’s claim to be from other side of the country, but she can’t really be choosy with her luck. She made a sale, and she’s happy. 

Lauren did also get quite taken with Haven herself. There’s just something about that town… When Carol makes her offer again, she decides to take it. She looks into rental places and arranges movers, and goes back to Chicago for a quick visit to settle her affairs and have a going away party with her friends. She feels good about her decision, even though everything came together surprisingly quickly. Maybe she should be a bit more cautious, especially considering what happened to her recently, but she doesn’t want to stop trusting people just because of a few incidents. She’s going to make her new home in Haven, Maine. 

_***Sketchy***_

Lauren quickly finds that being a realtor in Haven, Maine is not like it was in Chicago. Or probably anywhere else in the world. The houses and their occupants have weird issues, people want to buy and sell real estate all hours of the day, people coming in and out oddly. It's all very curious to Lauren, but no one ever really talks about it. She keeps seeing people with a particular tattoo who are especially eager to get quick housing but Lauren's idle googling doesn't give her any answers on what it is and what it means. While she can definitely see the effects of the market crash in Haven, it also seems to live in its own bubble, somehow. The housing market is not even the only odd thing in this town. There's weird weather and accidents, people starting to behave weirdly and they just issued a warning about rabid wolves. 

Lauren wonders if she made the right choice coming here. But she is an innately curious person, and a part of her wants to figure out Haven's mystery. 

And yet, nothing could have prepared Lauren for seeing a man get shredded during a client consultation. She's seen her fair share of odd things, both in Chicago and in Haven, but nothing like this. 

What makes everything even weirder is when the detective comes to investigate what happened, he's strangely familiar. ### Oh, fuck. He looks like Keenan Blake! Only somehow also not. It's weird.

"Hi, I'm Detective Wuornos. An officer said you saw something?" 

He doesn't sound like Keenan. Not the version who flirted with her, nor the version who tried to kill her. His voice is calming and gentle. This is so weird. _'If circumstances were different'_.

Lauren shakes her head. Keenan is in prison. "I'm sorry, Detective. You just, you remind me of someone."

The detective raises his eyebrow, "I do? I don't have much family, so I don't know who it might be." 

"He was a bad person," Lauren says to explain her spacing out, but the situation is just really weird, and she makes it even weirder. 

"Sorry to hear that. So, did you see what happened to Mr. Santomauro, or..?" 

"Yes, sorry. I did. Right. He just... Alec Dutton was having a meeting with him, and Joe just, it was like he was shredded." 

"Shredded?" 

"Yes. The door was open and I was walking to the break room at that moment. The sounds were awful." 

"And Alec Dutton was there? 

"Yes."

"Alright. Did you know Mr. Santomauro?"

"Not really. I've only been in Haven about two months. I have no idea why that happened to Joe. We occasionally exchanged smalltalk during lunch." 

Nathan finishes his notes, "Thank you, miss. Here's my card in case you hear anything or you think of something else that might be helpful." 

Lauren takes the business card, "I will, thank you." 

The detective, whose first name is Nathan, leaves her alone and goes to briefly talk to Carol while handing her his card, before he takes Alec Dutton with him, probably back to the station. 

Lauren still feels very shaken by Joe's fate and Nathan's resemblance to Keenan. She decides to do a little googling to set her mind at ease.

She rereads the news article about Keenan's arrest and sentencing. She finds an article about Nathan Wuornos being rewarded 'Officer of the Year' in 2007. She looks at the pictures side by side. There is definitely a resemblance. But they can't be the same person, that much is clear. It's still really weird though.

\---

A few days later, Lauren reads about the death of a Captain Richards in the _Haven Herald_. He was responsible for Joe's death as well as injuring some others because of gambling debts and blackmail. The paper does not explain how Richards was able to shred someone, especially from a distance. 

When she goes to work, everyone is talking about the case, but no one brings up the impossibility of what they know happened to Joe. Lauren doesn't bring it up either, but that doesn't mean she isn't thinking about it. Everyday, this town just becomes weirder and weirder.

*** _Resurfacing_ ***

The longer Lauren stays in Haven, the more bizarre stuff she hears about, and sometimes sees. Some clients have odd requests and she does her best to not ask questions and meet her clients’ needs. It’s a weird situation, but the economy being what it is, she’ll take it. And through it all, she feels a weird pull to this town, a weird connection she didn’t feel in Winters or in Chicago. But still, no one will tell her anything about what’s going on. 

Lauren hears about the wrecked boat, Fisherman’s Honor, making its way back to shore. She hears a lot of gossip about what must have happened to the ship and whose fault it was. When Tracy Garrick calls to request a realtor, the listing gets directed straight to Lauren. She thinks it’s because as an outsider she has no bone to pick with the Garricks. 

Tracy comes to the office during her lunch hour, because that is the only time she has and it’s when Lauren is usually alone. She becomes friendly with Tracy because she is a good listener and without baggage. Tracy desperately needs someone to listen and Lauren is happy to help with that. (Part of her hopes Tracy will tell her what is going on in this damn town) They settle all the paperwork and that day after work, Lauren goes to check out the house. 

It’s a beautiful house, lots of natural light, 3 bedrooms, a spacey living room with a fireplace and an office. It will probably fetch a good price. Lauren hopes it will, because the Garricks have gone through a lot and deserve it. While she’s there, the kids, Michael and Brooke, talk about some strange goings on in the house. Tracy clarifies what has been going on. More Haven weirdness. 

”Well, I have to tell you, if this place is haunted, or if you have a poltergeist, I legally have to mention it in the listing, and it will bring down the price,” Lauren tells them apologetically. 

”It’s not a haunting. Or a poltergeist. We don’t have those in Haven.” 

Lauren decides to grab hold of that phrasing. Maybe she’ll finally find out what’s going on here, “What *do* you have in Haven?” 

Tracy is very reluctant to answer. Lauren is well familiar with small town secrecy. It’s one of the reasons she wanted far away from Winters. 

”I can’t sell your house if I don’t know what is going on here,” Lauren points out. It’s not quite true. She has managed to complete some sales during her time in Haven. But if something affects this house, she’ll need to know about it. 

Tracy relents, and takes Lauren into her late husband’s office. Apparently, this is something her kids don’t need to know. 

”They are called the Troubles. My husband told me he had one, he said he used to have seizures that disconnected him from the world. I don’t what he meant. He never had one during our years together. But he’s not the only one. Any weird thing going on here, it’s because of the Troubles.” 

Lauren doesn’t know whether she should be more or less surprised. ‘The Troubles’. She has no idea what that means exactly. Maybe no one really knows except for those who are affected. 

”Do you think all these strange occurrences have to do with ‘a Trouble’? But what kind?” 

”I don’t know. I’m not Troubled. James rarely talked about his experience with his. He only mentioned that when he was a child, some woman helped him deal with it. But like I said, he didn’t have any seizures as an adult as far as I know. And I don’t know how these events could be connected.” 

”I don’t either,” Lauren tells Tracy, feeling frustrated. “Do you mind if I look around James’ office for a bit?” 

”No. Just try not to disturb things. Michael likes keeping everything the way it is.” 

Lauren has no reason to feel… she doesn’t even know how she feels. Ever since she arrived in Haven, she’s felt a weird connection to this town. While she hasn’t personally been involved with dealing with these ‘Troubles’, she has managed to build a nice murder board of all the weird happenings in Haven. She’s not sure why she’s done show. And now, she doesn’t know why she feels like the answer to *something* is right at the tip of her tongue. Like she should be able to figure this out. 

‘Damn, Lauren. You kinda solve a murder/real estate scam case and you think you can and need to solve some supernatural mysteries?’ she scolds herself. But then she feels *something* and she knows whatever it is, it’s real. She notices a shiver in the air, and she catches it. No, strike that. She catches James Garrick. 

”Lucy! You found me again!” 

”I’m not Lucy,” is the only thing Lauren manages to say to this man who appear from thin air. She can feel him, his shivers and his flesh. He’s real. This is really happening. “My name is Lauren.” 

”Thank you, Lauren.” 

”What is happening?” 

”You’re holding me here, just like Lucy did.” 

”What happened to you? People think you’re dead.” 

James talks hurriedly about rusted ship parts and trying to save his friend from going on the ship on that fateful day. Lauren doesn’t know everything about what he’s talking about, but she knows it’s important. Michael comes into the room, and James disappears as quickly as he appeared. 

Lauren tells Tracy about what just happened, and while the Garricks deal with that revelation, Lauren digs up Nathan Wuornos’ business card. She hasn’t really talked with him since she first saw him investigate Joe’s murder, but she feels like she can trust him. Or maybe he can pass on her info to the cop who is investigating Fisherman’s Honor’s shipwreck. 

”Wuornos speaking.” 

”Hi, it’s Lauren Baker. From Tradewinds? Do you know who is investigating the Fisherman’s—“ 

”It’s my case,” Nathan interrupts her, sounding curious. 

”Oh, good. I have some information you need to know,” Lauren then tells Nathan everything James just told her about the wreck. 

”Thank you. This is very useful information.” 

”Do you know who are responsible for those bad parts?” 

”I don’t see why I should tell a realtor about an ongoing police investigation.” 

”I know about the Troubles, and I’m having an open house at the Garricks’,” Lauren tells Nathan sternly. 

Nathan is quiet for a moment, “Friend of the family Hank was in on it, with a couple called the Fortunas.” 

”I think they were at the open house earlier today.” 

”They didn’t use fake names? Ugh, whatever. I’ll send some cops over there. I have a lead on Hank. Stay calm.” 

Before Lauren can comment on the ‘stay calm’ thing, Nathan has already disconnected. 

She’s about to start ranting at herself about Nathan’s weirdness, when she hears weird sounds outside. That’s probably the Fortunas. What can she do? She doesn’t have a gun and James’ office doesn’t have anything resembling a weapon. Maybe she can talk her way out of this? She’s good at that. She can’t just leave the Garricks in trouble. 

Lauren leaves the office, and gets in the living room where two guns point at her simultaneously. They don’t start shooting at her, so they are probably novices at this type of thing. That’s good. She notices a toy car move, which means James must be nearby. Good. She distracts the Fortunas by talking until she manages to sense where James is. She touches him, and he takes care of the Fortunas. 

Lauren can tell that James is weak, but he still has enough energy to stay for long enough to talk to his family. He talks to them, says goodbye but promises to always be there to watch over them. It’s beautiful and sad. With his last strength James thanks Lauren, calling her Lucy again. 

”I don’t know who Lucy is, I’m sorry.” 

”You look just like her. Maybe you’re family. I owe my life to her. Even when she had a piece of glass in her foot, she still helped me. It must have left a terrible scar. I’m glad you helped me again.” James turns away from Lauren, and she’s glad because her mind is reeling. A scar at the sole of her foot? She has that scar. 

”I’ll always be here for you. I love you,” James tells his crying family and then he disappears between Lauren’s hands. 

\--- 

Days later, she meets up with Nathan. She wants to know about the Troubles. Nathan seemed similarly curious about her, so they meet up at a fancy cafe. Nathan orders a black coffee with sugar, while Lauren gets a latte. 

”So, how did you find out about the Troubles?” Nathan asks, not even touching his coffee. 

Lauren takes a sip of hers, it’s really good but still a bit too hot. “I talked to Tracy Garrick. She told me about James’ seizure. It’s what made him disappear during the day of the shipwreck. And then I brought him back.” 

Nathan looks skeptical, ”You brought him back how exactly?” 

”I touched him and there he was.” 

”That’s a weird Trouble,” Nathan comments, taking his coffee to his lips, looking at it, seeing the steam and then blowing on it without tasting it. 

”Do you have one?” Lauren can’t help but ask. Based on Nathan’s reaction, that was a wrong thing to ask. Maybe that’s why everything is so secret around here. 

Eventually Nathan grunts, “Yes,” but doesn’t elaborate. 

Lauren decides to push through anyway, “So? What are they?” 

Nathan shrugs, “Who knows? Curses, afflictions, diseases. Some families have them, some don’t.” 

”So, they are hereditary?” Lauren hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Lucy since she heard about her. 

”Apparently,” Nathan says, but he doesn’t sound quite sure. There’s a hesitance to that acknowledgement. Lauren is surprised to find out she is curious to hear more. She also realizes that now that she has been able to look at Nathan more consistently, the less like Keenan he looks and seems. Odd. Maybe this Lucy woman is a similar coincidence.

”James said I looked like this woman Lucy who helped him when he was a kid. Do you know who he meant?” Asking Nathan feels kinda silly. She doesn’t know Nathan, Nathan doesn’t know her. What are the odds he’ll know someone who looked like her in the ‘80s? Astronomical.

”No. I was about 7 when the Troubles were last around, and I don’t remember much about them. And you don’t even know her last name,” Nathan takes a moment before he continues, “The _Herald_ might have something. You should ask the Teagues. They’d know.” 

”Thanks, I’ll do that.” 

Silence falls between them. The whole situation is really odd. They don’t really know each other. They are basically only talking because Nathan seemed aware of the Troubles and Lauren wanted to know more about them. She’s not quite sure why Nathan agreed to tell her anything. 

Nathan finally takes a sip of his coffee, and starts talking unprompted, “We don’t usually talk about the Troubles to outsiders. Hell, a lot of the locals refuse to acknowledge them. But since you know, and who knows what havoc the Troubles do to our real estate, if you run into anything weird, you can call me. Keeping the Troubles secret from the outside world is important.” 

Lauren mimes zipping her lips, “Not gonna say a word.” 

”Good,” Nathan finishes his coffee and gets up, “let me know if you run into more ghosts,” and Lauren thinks she sees a smile on Nathan’s lips and decides to laugh a bit. Nathan’s reaction shows she made the right call, it was a joke. 

”Will do. I have your card.” 

Nathan nods and walks out of the café while greeting most of the people there. 

Lauren finishes her latte. Well, she might have a few friends in town now. Maybe she’ll make Haven into her home after all. 

_***Real Estate***_

One day, months later, Lauren is alone at the Tradewinds office, having lunch when a woman about the same age as her comes looking for a realtor. Her name is Nina Holloway and a house on Marsten Road has just come under her possesion and she wants to sell the house. Lauren takes the listing happily. Since the Troubles have escalated, her work has been more sporadic. 

She notices that Nina has the same tattoo as so many Havenites, so that must mean she's Troubled. Wonder if that affects the house too? 

After Lauren is done with her lunch, she drives to her new listing. After she steps out of her car she gets a feeling. 

"Yeah, that house is definitely haunted," she says out loud to herself. She looks around the grounds of the house without going inside just yet. There is definitely something wrong with that house.

She sighs disappointedly as she dials Nathan's number and interrupts his lunch to ask if he minds giving her the criminal details of that house. And Nathan does, like always. 

"Yeah, you are right. That house has been a crime scene forever. People disappearing, including the Holloways who lived there in 1983." 

"So it's definitely haunted?" 

"Probably Troubled, but yeah, you really shouldn't try to sell that house ." 

"I know. I know," she sighs. "It's a fasconating house though." 

"I bet the town could use the land though. You could suggest that to your client." 

"Maybe I will. Thanks Nathan." 

"No problem." 

\--- 

The next day, Lauren invites Nina back to the office to discuss the situation. 

"Ms. Holloway, I am sorry, but that house is clearly haunted. Very haunted. Maybe Troubled. I suggest you get it demolished and sell the land to someone. The town would probably pay good money for it. But I can't in good conscience try to sell it to anyone."

Nina looks disappointed, "Oh. I don't know. My uncle was so proud of it. I don't know if I can do it." 

"I did some research. Your family is gone. No one has heard from any of them in decades. Keeping the house as it is isn't going to bring them back." 

Nina promises to think about it, and a few days later she calls Lauren, "I came to the conclusion that you're right. That is probably the best course of action. It is a really creepy house."

"Gorgeous, but creepy, I agree. I made a few calls and I think you can get a good price on the land. I can also handle the demolition arrangements."

"That would be great. Keep me updated on the situation!" 

Lauren ends the call, and while it's not quite what she does, she is glad she can help Nina like this. She briefly wonders what secrets that house keeps, and whether any of them relate to her and her mysterious past and connection to this town. If she's honest, she doesn't want to know.

She updates the file and contacts Dwight Hendrickson about the demolition job. Another Troubled person has been helped with her skills, and that makes this a good day. You can never have too many of those.


End file.
